Pact with the devil
by Torchiclover22
Summary: Young Nathlia must kill the Joker in order to gain her own freedom...
1. Chapter 1

"Today, the American government has released some shocking information. The tale of 'The Joker' whom many people from America, particularly from the big town of Gotham have claimed to have seen murdering people has proven to be true. America's police officers have been constantly denying his existence, however today, the well-known Harvey Dent has decided to step up and tell people the truth." The news TV presenter announced, his face disappearing and being immediately replaced with some footage of Harvey Dent.

"Today, citizen of Gotham, is the day I'll apologize for keeping so many secrets from you all. The reason I did so was to try and protect every one of you while the police would try and deal with The Joker. For over a year now, he has dissappeared, and is nowhere to be seen, so do not panic, but also do remember that he can always come back. Watch your backs, and don't forget to report any sightings you see! Thank you." He stated, and got off the stage, putting the microphone back into its place.

What followed afterwards on news didn't interest me one bit, I was quite shocked to find out The Joker stories were true. To be honest, I always found them to be fun to read, and wonder what would it be like if he was actually real. Where did he go though? Did he just quit his 'job'? Got bored of murdering, or perhaps creating some sort of huge scheme to destroy the whole city?

Who knows, I didn't really care, seeing as I lived in London. Europe was quite far from America, so I didn't worry about being killed by this so-called psychopath. I was in Law School, so The Joker had always been a subject often discussed, and most of us had agreed that he most certainly was not real. After all, what kind of genius could bypass all the technology used today? Apparently he could.

I yawned and lied down into bed, falling asleep after about thirty minutes of thinking about random stuff. The day after was going to be pretty tough, seeing as I had so many boring classes.

*3 AM*

My eyes cracked open, awakening with an incredibly strong sensation that I was being watched. I pulled the blanket on me, reaching under the pillow for the Glock pistol that I had in the house for situations like these. I was sure I was just paranoid, so I tried to brush it off and go to bed. It wouldn't leave me. The moment I heard a creaky noise I shot up from the bed, moving as silently as I could, pointing my gun at random spots, immensely scared. It felt like I was in a horror story. I should call the police, but the phone wasn't anywhere near me. And what if whoever was in the house would hear the phone ring? If it was just a robber I could simply let it steal whatever it wanted and then he'd be on his way.

But what if it was a killer? The Joker's face popped into my head, and tears started running down my cheeks, my heart pounding against my chest, certain that I was going to die that night. All the serial killer movies I had ever seen at that point and all the cases I've ever read were racing through my mind as I was getting close to the front door. It was open. I did not know how, seeing as I had locked it before going to bed.

I kept going, until I made a wrong step. My foot bumped into something that made a LOUD noise, it was either glass or metal, but it didn't exactly matter to me at that point. Exactly when that happened, I heard a low breath and noisy footsteps which seemed to be running, and then the front door being slammed closed. I approached the window, which was partly open, and stared out of it. A silhouette was in my small garden, running about, until it suddenly stopped. I swear I saw its head turn towards me, holding something that looked like a gun. So I aimed my gun and pulled the trigger. My target slowly fell to its knees, and then finally collapsing onto the ground. Everything moved into slow motion. I shot again, just to make sure he was dead. And he sure was. I opened the door and ran to his location, only to see that he wasn't holding any gun. He was holding a large phone.

What the fuck did I just do? I wanted to scream, but nothing came out, just wails and sounds of me choking back my own tears. I didn't know what I was doing, all I knew was that I was going to jail.

"Hey-!" A man from afar shouted, jumping past the small fence of my yard. It was dark, the nearest street light was a few good feet away. It was hard for me to see anything, but I could see his clothes. They were blue. He was a policeman.

Acting purely controlled by my adrenaline and instincts, I lifted my handgun and shot him too. I missed, and he pulled out his own gun. So I shot, and shot, and shot. I shot repeatedly until I was sure he was dead too.

And there I was. Two dead bodies in my yard. I rose onto my feet, knees weak, and stared at the mess in my small garden. My whole life flashed before my eyes, I remembered when I was a child with big dreams of becoming a lawyer, and then a teen aspiring to become a horse riding champion and to get into the best law university in England, working as hard as I could to move from my native country to London. I remembered the happiness I had gotten once I received my acceptance letter, and how hard it was for me to leave my whole family behind.

I remembered how I could slowly overcome my mental illness which was preventing me from doing anything at all with my life. I remembered the pain I was in during my younger years, and how I had finally gotten over all my bad habits – smoking, drinking, drugs, self-harm, I had ditched them all for a better life, for a future.

I remembered what it felt like when I had to sell my horse, when my dog and my cat died, when my parents divorced. I remembered the sadness, the pain I felt. I remembered my life, and how great it felt to live.

It would all be over... everything... I would go to jail... I would rot in prison for life. I would never get a chance to find love, to start a family, to finish school and become a great lawyer. I would never ride a horse again. Everything I had ever hoped for was ended in five minutes.

Tears rolled down my cheeks as I emotionlessly stared at the two dead bodies in front of me. I fell onto my butt, hugging my knees, screaming into my legs, crying my eyes out. What was I going to do?

My sadness was soon replaced with anger. Why did my life have to be over just for two petty people's lives? Who the hell cared about an insane man and a policeman without any sort of studies? Their lives were pathetic anyways. I grasped a piece of broken glass in my hand, and began stabbing the two men's bodies repeatedly, venting my anger which was soon combined with despair. My vision was blurry from all the tears which had never stopped to fall until the moment I ran out of them, my throat drying.

I suddenly stopped and sank a piece of glass into my thigh, stabbing through my own flesh and the pants I was wearing. Blood dripped down my leg and onto the grass, suddenly calming me down and helping me think and try to find a solution.

I'd run away. Yes, I would run away.

I quickly ran into my house, grabbed all the money I had, my credit card, cellphone, car keys, and quickly ran to my car, driving off as fast as I could, scared of any police cars that could be following me. I didn't know where I was going, all I knew was that I just had to drive.

And so I did, I drove for about an hour, my car seat soaked in blood. The bleeding still hadn't stopped, the sharp pain aching through the wound I had created. Where could I go, I didn't know, I was incredibly tired. Multiple times I had considered killing myself, but I would not give up, not yet. So I pulled over in the first forest I found, driving my car deep into the woods until it was too thick to drive into anymore, and stopped there. I tried to fall asleep, but I could not. I got out of the car and started running deeper and deeper into the forest, hoping a wolf would just eat me, but instead, everything went black and I collapsed through the fallen leaves.

"What should we do with her?" A man whose voice I didn't recognize asked. No matter how hard I tried, I could not bring myself to open my eyes or move any part of my body. I felt no pain, I felt absolutely nothing, barely hearing what was going on around me.

"Uhh- I don't really know. Maybe we should ask the boss." Another guy stated, sounding as clueless as the other.

"The boss is away, stupid. Let's just take her in, and if the boss don't like her, we shoot her." The first guy simply said, and the other one agreed. Great.

I felt myself being picked up, and tried my best to recall yesterday's events. I remembered everything perfectly, but was it all a dream?

Slowly, my eyes opened and I could see the man's chin, decorated by a thick beard. The pain in my thigh confirmed that it wasn't a dream. Sadly, it was real.

As fucked up as it sounds, I was actually glad those people would take me in. So if they killed me, what? I had nothing to live for anymore anyways. I just hoped they wouldn't turn me in to the police or anything.

I began mumbling and shaking my head, trying to see anything clearly. My vision was still blurry, but it was slowly getting back to normal.

"Stand still, girl!" The man carrying me demanded, and I complied with a sigh. The wound hurt like hell.

Soon, I felt something soft beneath me. I figured it was a bed. The feeling of standing on something comfortable was awesome, and I thanked God when they pulled a blanket on me.

"Hey, are you awake?" The first man asked, and when I did not respond, I was slapped. Although it hurt, I wanted to thank him, since it helped me wake up.

"Yeah." I finally said, trying to take a good look at them. They seemed so clueless. "Thank you." I continued, a bit amused upon seeing their surprised faces.

"Uhh—what's your name?" He resumed his questioning, clearly unsure of what to say or do.

"Nathalia." I managed to say, feeling a bit better. "Who are you?"

"uhh, call me Bob." He stated. "My name's Brandon, but boss calls me Bob, so I'm Bob. This is Tim." He pointed to his colleague, who smiled awkwardly. I replied with a smile of my own.

"I'm very happy to have met you, Bob and Tim. Who's your boss?" I blurted out the last part, not really realizing it was a risky thing to ask. I was truly curious.

"Umm, you'll see when he comes back from work. You hungry or thirsty?" Bob asked me, and I was truly surprised at their hospitality. At first, they seemed to be criminals or some sort of thieves, but I honestly had second thoughts about that. Maybe they were just... wood choppers or something?

"Yes." I stated. "Both." I added when they didn't react in any way. Tim nodded and quickly brought me a plate which contained a glass of water and some instant noodles. I consumed both of them incredibly quick, and when I noticed neither of them would be coming back any soon, I just rested my head against the pillow, quickly falling asleep.

"My, my, what have we here?" I heard a strange voice say. What had woken me up was the same guy's yelling and some doors slamming, obviously angry at Bob or Tim, so I assumed he was the so called 'boss'. I was surprised to hear how calm he sounded while talking to me, however his vocals were accompanied by a large amount of sarcasm, which burned like poison. Made me feel uneasy.

I stared at the tall man which was slowly approaching me. Tall, green-haired, dressed in a purple suit. White face with big, red scars which were accentuated by red lipstick, and his eyes... They were so black. Like onyx. No, like the abyss. And the dark makeup around them made him look so much more menacing.

"You look like the Joker." I stated nervously. From the stories descriptions, that was exactly what he looked like. I was scared, and when I was scared, I couldn't exactly control what I said. The thought that it didn't really matter if I died or not calmed me down a bit, but then I remembered there were worse things than death.

He clapped his gloved hands slowly. "Amazing remark!" He commented sarcastically, which made me feel stupid. The man chuckled, his laughter sending shivers down my spine.

"So, you're... uh... this Joker?" I dumbly questioned yet again, my fear still there, but now the embarrassment had replaced it for the most part. How could I be so stupid? I blamed the fact that I didn't exactly have the best day.

"You're quite dense, aren't you?" He questioned, however it sounded more like a statement. I couldn't understand why he was being so aggressive. Maybe because he's a serial killer? Are you an idiot?

"No, I'm not." I said, but he ignored me and threw the blanket off of me, ripping out a piece of glass which had gotten stuck in the wound and carelessly throwing it on the ground. He pulled my pants down and before I knew it, I felt even more pain than before. I dared to stand up slightly and look at what he was doing.

SHIT. I thought, gritting my teeth as I tried my best not to scream. He was stitching it. While I was awake. I couldn't hold back everything, so I escaped quite a few 'OWs' every now and then.

"Done!" He happily said, further analyzing the wound, pressing his finger on it and then pouring some rubbing alcohol directly onto the wound.

"GOD!" I yelled through my teeth as the pain increased even more. I felt like just cutting my whole leg off, it stung like hell, but soon it decreased to the point I could endure it.

"Much better now, isn't it?" He chuckled, and I nodded silently. "Now, tell me doll, who did this to you, hmm?" The Joker asked, staring right into my eyes. I refused to answer, way too ashamed of my actions. In a split second, his hand reached for my throat, firmly grasping it and pushing his finger right into it. "WHO-DID-IT?" He demanded again. "I am not a patient man, doll."

I tried to speak, but couldn't due to the lack of air, so I tried to push his hand away with both of my palms. Obviously it wasn't my 'strenght' that made him let go, but he probably understood I couldn't really speak, seeing as I was already weak. "I did."

His finger trailed to the other scars that I had, the bigger ones in particular, and pushed down on them. "And these, too?" It was amazing how he could go from losing his shit to completely calm in a matter of a second.

"Yes." I stated, trying my best to be confident. Why would I be ashamed? It's not like he was exactly the best example of a mentally stable man, either.

Suddenly, he burst into laughter. Why, I did not know, all I knew was that he was most certainly insane. "Amazing!" He stated. "W-what happened?" The Joker asked through his laughing. "Did you just fight with your boyfriend? Is that why y-you r-ran away?"

Surprisingly, I grinned as well, almost laughing myself. He thought I was just some crazy basic emo teen. To think of it, I probably was. "No, not really. I just killed two men." I admitted, feeling guilty. "That's why I ran away."

"Such a fragile little thing like you managed to... kill! And two men, at that! I bet the police are going crazy, looking for you all over the place. I bet you were so scared, pathetic little thing, you're running from the- the cops! Hahaha, now that's the funniest thing I've heard in a while." His tone went from being fully amused to a low, menacing growl. It was making me freak out, seeing as I wasn't exactly the bravest person around.

"Yes." I repeated, trying to gather enough courage to ask if I could stick around. It was better to live with these people than to rot in jail, was it not? I was sure life would be living hell for me, but at least I had someone to talk to, not just some gross inmates. As weird as it sounds, The Joker and his men, although crazy, did not disgust me at all.

"Uhh-, I was wondering..."

"Come on doll, spit it out! I haven't got all day!" The Joker said, his lips stretched into a huge grin. He was surely amused by making fun of me.

"I want to stay here."

"You're getting funnier with every word you say, do you know that?" He asked, still chuckling, unable to hold back his laughter. "Tell me one good reason I shouldn't kill you on the spot." The Joker demanded, once again, looking completely serious.

I didn't really stop to think too much. What other reason did I have?

"I haven't got anything to live for, so I would literally do anything, even if it would kill me or not."

He pointed his index finger at me and waved it around, maintaining his grin. "Ah, you're just too funny, little one. I'll let you stay, but once I get bored of you, it won't be pretty." The Joker got closer and closer to my face, until I could feel his breath against my cheek, my heart pounding in my chest. "And mark my words, there are much worse things than death, little doll."

And with that, he left.


	2. Chapter 2

p style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium;"The following day, I woke up with a massive headache. On the bright side, the stab wound in my thigh was better./p  
p style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium;"Feeling pretty hungry, I decided to try and get out of the normal looking room and try to surf the place for something to eat. I never really got to see the place, I couldn't even remember where exactly I was./p  
p style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium;"I tried the door, but unusurprisingly it was locked. Sighing, I searched my pockets for my cellphone, an iPhone 6 that I absolutely loved. Simple, easy to use but expensive as hell./p  
p style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium;"A new message, from an unknown number./p  
p style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium;""Hello." It said simply, and out of boredom I decided to answer./p  
p style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium;""Who is this?" I replied lazily, sitting comfortably in my bed. Suddenly, my phone began ringing. It read 'unknown caller'. Why would they hide their number? I waited a few seconds, thinking whether I should answer or not. What if it was the police?/p  
p style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium;"Screw it, I thought as I pressed the green button./p  
p style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium;""Hello?" I called out into the phone, trying to keep my voice down./p  
p style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium;""Miss Nathalia Maev?" A masculine voice asked, and at that point I was pretty sure it was the police. Fuck it, they didn't know where I was anyways./p  
p style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium;""...yes?" I reluctantly answered, and then a short, yet awkward silence followed./p  
p style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium;""My name is detective Gordon, and I have been following the Joker for a good amount of years now. I know you are with him, and I also know about your crime. Don't panic. I won't ask you to tell me where you are, seeing as he is a master at running away. But, miss Maev, I ask you to kill the Joker whenever you get the chance. If you do so, I will make sure that nobody will ever know about your crime, you have my word. Throw this phone away, smash it. Please be careful, I wish you the best of luck." The man said and hung up. Adrenaline was flowing through my veins yet again, and I destroyed the phone without thinking twice. Then, I started pacing around the room. That was it. That was my chance to escape, I just had to kill the Joker. It was easy enough, all I needed was some time. I could just do it while he was sleeping and then run away, right? Just how hard could it be?/p  
p style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium;"I sighed, throwing my body onto the bed, staring at the plain white ceiling. I knew I had to do it. It was my only way out, the ticket to continuing my normal life. And just thinking of the amount of lives I would save…/p  
p style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium;"I dozed off for a while, and then woke up about two hours later even hungrier, and my headache did not dissappear either. I got up after stretching for a bit and I started hitting the door with my fists, hoping someone would hear me. I needed to be fed./p  
p style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium;"Nothing, nobody answered. I didn't even have a place to take a shower in, or go to the bathroom. I heard laughing outside, so why didn't anyone care about me? I sighed./p  
p style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium;"There was nothing else to do but wait./p  
p style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium;" /p  
p style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium;"-11 PM—/p  
p style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium;" /p  
p style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium;"I felt horrible, and did nothing the whole day. I had kind of accepted my own fate, and although I tried yelling and kicking the door a few more times, nothing changed./p  
p style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium;"Suddenly, everyone fell silent, and I heard someone unlocking my door./p  
p style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium;""Finally!" I cried out, hoping to see someone with a plate of food. Instead, I saw the same face as yesterday, none other than The Joker./p  
p style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium;""Missed me, doll?" He chuckled, closing the door behind him./p  
p style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium;""Yes, I'm hungry as hell!" I stated, my stomach making a weird noise which confirmed what I had just said./p  
p style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium;"Having a conversation with The Joker was very strange. I knew what he did, who he was, he made me feel like a dumbass, made me feel scared, and then there were those moments when I actually felt normal talking to him. Those were the creepiest moments, because I'd talk, and then I'd remember who I was talking to, and wonder how come we were having a normal conversation./p  
p style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium;""You mean... You haven't been fed?" He asked, his facial expression suddenly shifting into a dead serious one. I shook my head. Grabbing my wrist, he dragged me out of the room. My leg was hurting, his grip was so hard that he would probably bruise the place, and not to mention I was incredibly dizzy due to my hunger./p  
p style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium;"Finally, I could see the rest of the place. It was normal looking, the only thing out of normal I noticed was the fact that it had multiple, metal tables with matching metal chairs. A lot of men, of varying body shapes were sitting there, all of them looking at us./p  
p style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium;"The Joker pulled out a dagger. "Innie, minnie, minnie, mo..." He began pointing at random men, but stopped at the man I recognized to be Tim. "C'mere, boy!" The Joker called out, a huge grin plastered onto his face. His dagger then pointed to me. "I thought I told you to... Feed her!" He growled, twisting the knife between his fingers./p  
p style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium;"."Uhh..." Tim began, his voice shaking, obviously afraid, "I-I'm really so-sorry boss... I forg-ot... Bob and I began playing cards... Then the others joined in and we... We lost track of time... I am so sorry! Please forgive me." My eyes were fixated on the Joker, and was quite amused to see the incredibly bored expression on his face, and the childish eyeroll he made./p  
p style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium;""Blah, blah, blah." The Joker simply said after Tim rambled. Suddenly, his hand quickly bent into my direction, and I backed away simply because he scared me. "You scared, doll? Come on, take the knife." He commanded. I didn't really have any choice, did I? So I took the dagger, feeling its weight in my hand./p  
p style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium;""Now, kill him." He said, the whole room was watching. I didn't do anything at first, but I felt a strong punch directly in my face. It hurt like hell, but luckily adrenaline helped me get over the pain, so I rolled over. I saw him lift his leg. He was much stronger than me, bigger, but I had a dagger. So I had an advantage, but I had to play it smart. Awkwardly, I countered by lifting my left arm so that he cannot stop my next move, and sank the knife right into his leg. He yelled in pain, and I removed the dagger with some effort, pulling it out. It affected him, but not that much, so I still had to keep going strong. With my left fist, I pretended to try and punch hin in the face, so all his focus was on my left hand. I quickly drove the knife in his stomach. Game over. I thought proudly, as I watched him fall to the ground./p  
p style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium;"I felt my leg being grabbed, and I fell with him. Due to the sudden move, I didn't know what to do, so I soon felt my dagger sliding out of my hand. I realized that he had it, and was ready to stab me./p  
p style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium;"Boom. And he's dead. Blood was everywhere. I was exhausted and hurt, again. Dirty and hungry, and all I could hear was the Joker's bone chilling laughter./p  
p style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium;"I pushed myself onto my feet, threw the dagger at him. "I'm still hungry." I complained./p  
p style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium;""Ah, I think you should go to your room." My room? What was I, a dog? A child? I didn't like it, the way he said it. I was exhausted, though. It was a mental battle I had with myself, but my brain didn't choose either option, since I just fell on the floor, swimming in my own and Tim's blood./p  
p style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium;"With a long, deep sigh, he grabbed my wrist yet again and yanked me onto my feet. My eyes were tearing up, I wasn't crying, no, but excessive pain always made my eyes teary, even though I could somehow take it./p  
p style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium;"I was dragged all the way to 'my' room and thrown on the bed, my blood staining the sheets./p  
p style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium;""Why did you kill him?" I asked, my curiosity taking over me once again./p  
p style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium;""Because you couldn't, obviously!" He stated, left, and closed the door. The Joker seemed to be in a hurry, I had no idea why, I just supposed he had some evil plan to carry out./p  
p style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium;"I groaned in pain, and thought of what just happened. I knew he didn't care one bit about me. I would be stupid to think he got mad I hadn't been fed because he cared, no, it was because he had been disobeyed. He told Tim to bring me food, but he didn't./p  
p style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium;"The Joker certainly did not seem to have any sort of friends, or even people he knew the names of. I bet he didn't care to remember Tim's name, so that's why he just labeled these… Henchmen with short, simple names./p  
p style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium;"It was cruel, really. What did he care about? Who? Why did he choose this life? How did he end up like this?/p  
p style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium;"So many questions that I had./p  
p style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium;"And those scars, how did he get them? Did I really want to know?/p  
p style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium;"Who am I fooling, of course I wanted to know. Sighing, I threw myself on the bed once again and got lost in thought./p  
p style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium;"An hour later, I was still not asleep, and after a lot of thinking I came up with a nickname for the Joker. J. Just J. I thought it suited him./p  
p style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium;"The door opened, and I saw none other than the Joker. I giggled, seeing him with a tray of food, cooked food. Fries with chicken breast. Delicious./p  
p style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium;""Dinner!" He shouted out happily, and I grinned./p  
p style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium;""That looks delicious, did you cook it?" I asked with honest curiosity, not digging in just yet, as I found it quite rude to speak to someone while chewing, even though I was starving./p  
p style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium;""Of course." He grinned, looking almost proud./p  
p style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium;"Fuck it. I thought, and took a fry to eat./p  
p style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium;""Aren't you scared it's poisoned?" J asked with a mischievous smirk as I was reaching for the fry./p  
p style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium;""Poisoned? Doesn't really seem like your style." I stated as I put it in my mouth, chewing it. "It's actually pretty good! Never knew you actually ate this kind of things." I stated with a nod as I kept eating more and more fries, leaving the chicken for last./p  
p style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium;""What do you think I eat, human meat?" He asked with a chuckle. And yet again, this conversation was almost normal. Excluding his dark humor and the fact that the bed and I were covered in blood./p  
p style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium;""More like instant noodles, and a shit ton of coffee." I stated with a smile, which I didn't really know if it was fake or not. I was a very adaptable person, and sometimes I didn't know if I was being fake or not. I liked to believe I was, since I had a mission that I had to complete and the fact that this guy was a serial killer. That didn't really bother me much, I wasn't very empathetic, but I just felt like a disappointment to society if I truly accepted him as he was. Fuck, I really have to stop caring about what other people think of me./p  
p style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium;""That, is a huge part of my diet." He stated after a few seconds. Surprisingly, I had finished eating everything./p  
p style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium;""Hey, you got a cigarette?" I asked casually. Seeing as I was on 'vacation' from my life, I didn't see why I couldn't cheat a little and not give a fuck or feel guilty when I smoke./p  
p style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium;""Mhmm, come along." He said. It took me a minute to move, mostly because his makeup was smudged off for the most part, and I could see bits of actual skin color on his face. It made me wonder what did he look like without it./p  
p style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium;"Nevertheless, I obliged and followed. He was on the balcony of the huge cabin thing, and I stared at it for a few seconds before going next to him. It was covered in plants. Smart./p  
p style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium;""There ya go." He said, extending his palm with the cigarette in it, but closed it as I reached for it. That bastard. "Not so fast, doll. You gotta do something for me, first."/p  
p style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium;"I sighed. "What?"/p  
p style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium;""We're gonna play a game, 'cause I'm pretty bored." J said casually, inhaling the smoke from his own cigarette and blowing it out./p  
p style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium;""Okay." I said, actually quite glad we would play games, but also a bit nervous, since I knew he was pretty sick and twisted when it came to… Games./p  
p style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium;""It's called twenty questions, with a little twist. If you don't want to answer the question, you have to cut your hand. If you think the other is lying, you cut their hand. Easy enough?" He asked with a grin, obviously pretty excited to start the game./p  
p style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium;"Whatever, yolo. I thought. What difference did a few extra scars make? Fuck it, this is the most excited I had been to play a game in a long time./p  
p style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium;""Sounds good to me." I grinned, still a bit anxious to play./p  
p style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium;""Good, good. Ladies first." He said, handing me the cigarette which I eagerly lit and began smoking. J placed the same dagger I had used earlier that day on the wooden, square shaped rail./p  
p style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium;""Do you consider anyone to be your friend?" I asked eagerly, and his scarred lips extended into a huge, happy grin. Why was he so happy, I didn't know./p  
p style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium;""No." J simply said, offering no further explanation, as that was a yes or no question, so really, he didn't have to. I was a bit sad he didn't even think twice before answering. Inside myself, in a very very dark, hidden part of me, I wanted his approval, wanted him to think of me as something other than just a playtoy, or a henchman./p  
p style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium;""Your turn." I stated simply, trying to hide how anxious I was about what his question would be./p  
p style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium;""What were your dreams.. You know, before all this. Your… Goals, if you will." He asked, using strange hand gestures to express himself./p  
p style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium;""I didn't want to have a boring life. I wanted to do something that I liked, something that would never get old. I didn't want to become a zombie." I said simply, and soon realized it was my turn./p  
p style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium;""Why are you killing people?"/p  
p style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium;""Ahh, doll, that's a tough question. You won't understand.. Not if you don't see what I see… Not until you see the world as it really is. Not until you realize life's too short to waste your time on those who are not worth it." He stated, and I realized the last bit was mostly about the henchmen, or well, that was my opinion. I still had a long way from figuring out what was going on in that twisted brain of his. I didn't even know why I wanted to get to know him that bad. Everything… It happened so fucking suddenly, and I guess that helped me adapt to this environment faster than I would have otherwise. Besides, I had nowhere to go other than this place. At least not until I finish my mission./p  
p style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium;""That doesn't really count as an answer." I stated blandly, disappointed that his explanation hadn't been clear enough for me./p  
p style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium;""Ah, yes, you're quite right." J said, and with the dagger, he cut a vertical line on his arm, which bled profusely. It was his turn./p  
p style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium;""So tell me, do you wanna know how I got these scars?" He asked out of a sudden. It was starting to creep me out. Why would he ask that? Was he testing me?/p  
p style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium;""Not really." I stated blandly, but I knew It was a lie, and I was expecting my puniahment./p  
p style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium;"And there it came. My already hurt wrist was grabbed, and with the knife, he cut a line with a curve at the end on my arm. It bled. A lot. And it stung like hell. I couldn't even look at the/p  
p style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium;"shape, since it was dark and the wound was full of blood. I pressed my palm against it, which helped the pain a little. I had to concentrate on this stupid game, even though I was holding back tears. I needed to be strong, so I thought of my next question./p  
p style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium;""Why are you keeping me around?" I really didn't find myself interesting or anything, so I wasn't trying to lowkey make him say that, because I knew it wouldn't happen./p  
p style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium;""You haven't bored me. No, not yet." He simply said, and I believed him. It probably was the truth, why would he lie to someone as insignificant as I?/p  
p style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium;"His turn./p  
p style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium;""You murdered three people. How does that make you feel?" J asked, and I stared at his face for a bit. The facepaint he was wearing looked very gloomy, creepy while being illuminated by the moon./p  
p style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium;""Two—"/p  
p style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium;""Three, Nath. Don't give me that bullshit, he would have died even if I hadn't shot him. Do not play dumb with me, and do not try to mask what you have done." He stated, demanded even./p  
p style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium;"God, was I weak. There I was, again. Embarrassed as fuck, tears forming in my eyes, humiliated. That dark corner of mine, it was yelling in my head./p  
p style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium;"But I had to look tough, so I tried my best not to think about it and just answer./p  
p style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium;""I'm not feeling anything. Not yet, I suppose not enough time has passed for me to realize what has happened yet. All I feel is guilty that I am not feeling guilty or mourning the three men that died by my hand."/p  
p style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium;"He nodded silently, pulling out another cigarette for himself and another one for me./p  
p style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium;""Fair enough, your turn, prin-cess."/p  
p style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium;"Why was he mocking me by calling me princess? Was it because I was being too sensitive./p  
p style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium;"Overthinking, again. Smart, Nath./p  
p style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium;""How do the normal moments make you feel? I mean, like, when you're not killing anyone. When you're, for example, here, playing this game with me. Or when you brought me food, or when you just smoke a cigarette and clear your mind." I asked. A stupid question, indeed, but I was running out of things to ask./p  
p style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium;""What a strange question… I suppose I never really paid much attention to that." J said, and with the dagger, he started the cut from the other one's end, and created a 'V' on his hand./p  
p style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium;""Your turn." I stated the obvious, kinda nervous about what he would ask./p  
p style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium;""How do you feel about your scars?" His face was emotionless. It was annoying that I couldn't read him./p  
p style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium;""Ashamed. Stupid." I admitted, and quickly blurted out my question./p  
p style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium;""How did you get those scars?" I asked. He was silent for a moment, and I quickly grabbed his wrist, and with the dagger, added another line to the cut, parallel with the first one but still connected to the second one. It made an N. I thought it was fair, seeing as the scar he made was a J. I had noticed that when the blood stopped flowing./p  
p style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium;""You wouldn't have told the truth anyways."/p  
p style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium;"He began laughing. That wicked laugh. It always sent shivers down my spine. Made me feel small. Echoed through the whole forest./p  
p style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium;""I think it's time for bed, princess. Enough games for today." He stated, after his cackling stopped, however a huge, red, cheshire grin was still plastered onto his facial features./p  
p style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium;"I nodded, intending to head to bed, however a sharp pain on my arm reminded me that I still had to get my brand new J scar bandaged up. "Right, uh, do you happen to have some band aids?" I asked innocently, hoping not to anger him or anything./p  
p style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium;""Go to your room." He ordered, and I could just comply. So to bed I went, and to my surprise, the whole room was clean./p  
p style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium;"I had fresh sheets, and a whole bunch of products like shampoo on my night stand. And band aids! Perfect./p  
p style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium;"So I grabbed some, bandaged my wound up, and wondered if I should take a shower or not. I decided not to, I'd rather do it in the morning, so I just threw myself onto the clean bed which smelled amazing and fell asleep almost instantly./p 


End file.
